Lacing hook and fastening



(No Model.)

H, J. STEVENS. LAOING HOOK AND FASTENING.

No. 536,740. Patented Apr. 2, 1895.

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Unrrno STATES PATENT Gaston...

HERBERT J. STEVENS, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

LACING HOOK AND FASTENING.

$PECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 536,740, dated April 2,1895. Application filed April 20, 1894. Serial No. 508,259. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

lieit known that I, HERBERT J. STEVENS, a cit zen of the United States,residing at Detrolt, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have lnvented acertain new and useful Improvement in Lacing Hooks and Fastenings; and Ideclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanylng drawings, which form a part of this specification.

Myinvention has for its object a lace hook and fastening for shoes,gloves, corsets and other analogous articles, and it consists of theconstruction, combination, and arrangement of devlces and applianceshereinafter specified and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Flgure l is a front elevation showing the combinedhook and fastening upon a shoe. F g. 2 is a view in elevation on theline 2-2, F1g. 1, looking toward the hook and fasten- 1ng. Fig. 3 is aview on the line 33, Fig. 1, looking toward the hook and fastening.Fig.4 is a view on the line 4-4, Fig. 1, looking toward my improveddevice. Fig. 5 is a sectional View on the line 5.5, Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is aview in perspective showing my improved device in place upon a shoe.Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing ordinary lacing hooksover which the lacing is passed.

Although my invention is designed for a variety of uses, I have shownit, and will hereinafter describe it as applied to a shoe or boot, butwould have it understood that I do not contemplate its use upon shoes orboots alone.

My invention is more particularly designed as a combined lace hook andterminal fasten I carry out my invention as follows:

A represents my improved hook and fastening, B denoting a shoe or bootupon which my improved device is applied.

C is a lacing.

B and B denote the lacing edges of the shoe, and B the upper edge of theshoe.

My improved hook and fastening is constructed with a body A which may beformed of sheet metal and in a single integral piece,

. usual manner. fastening is also formed with a back or side or base Ais formed with an eyelet 0. en-

gaged with the shoe or other article in the The body of the hook and Ahaving its lateral edges curved toward the lacing edges of the shoe, thesaid back intermediate its edges being convex on its surface oppositethe lacing edges of the shoe, as indicated in the drawings, as forexample in the cross section, Fig. 5 at a. The body A is alsoconstructed with a covering or top portion A projecting atessentiallyright angles to the line of the lacing edges of the shoe. The body isformed with an opening thereinto, as at A on the side thereof oppositethe lacing edges of the shoe. The upper and lower sides of the body arealso open as shown, the body being thus essentially hook-shaped with theopening opposite the lacing edges of the, shoe. This construction of thebody forms a book through which the lacing is led in the customarymanner, or as the lacing would be led over any ordinary lacing hook. Thecurved edges of the back A render the act of drawing the cord throughthe book a simple and easy matter, the same as drawing the lacingthrough any lacing hook. In this respect the hook feature or portion ofmy device is every way analogous to the hooks now in customary use forshoe lacings, and

my improved hook and fastening may occupy the same relative position'upon a shoe as an ordinary hook, although it may be set a littlefarther back from the lacing edge if desired, and as l have indicatedits position in the accompanying drawings. The openings of the hook onthe upper and lower sides thereof are indicated more particularly inFig. 3 at or, and a Within the hook portion or chamber of the body A, Ilocate a swinging latch or cam D preferably toothed on its undersurface. This latch has a hinged engagement in the top or upper portionA of the hook and depends toward and adjacent to the base A when innormal position. As shown in Figs. 3 and 6, more particularly the mainportion of the latch extends downward at or adjacent to the open side aof the hook, the open side a being the upper open side of the hook asthe device is applied to a shoe.

While I do not limit myself solely to the particular mannerof hingingthe latch in the top A of the hook, I prefer that it should be hinged atthe side thereof adjacent to the opening (L3. I prefer to form the hingeby recessing the portion A of the hook, as shown at a, on opposite sidesthereof to receive spindles d on opposite sides of the latch.

My invention contemplates forming the top A with a lip a at its freeedge in which one of the sockets a is formed andalso with a lip at rightangles thereto, as shown at a. Said lip a, after the spindles d havebeen engaged in their corresponding recesses a is bent down over the topof the latch D to hold thelatch in hinged position in the portion A Itwill readily be seen thus that the lacing readily enters the lowerportion of the hook and as it is pulled up, lifts the latch permittingthe lacing to ride under the latch. Any tension of the lacing in theopposite or downward direction, binds the toothed latch the more firmlyupon the lacing. Thus the latch in combination with the hook effectuallyforms a terminal fastening for the lacing.

It will be seen that the toothed latch swings up in becoming loosenedfrom thelacing cord or when thelacin'g cord is pulled upward,and swingsdownward to tighten upon the lacing. The latch is hung to swingessentially paral lel with the lacing edges of the shoe. The

lacing is engaged with the hook and fastenin g latch by simply drawingthe lacing upward about the hook portion of the device in a verticalline or parallel with the lacing edges. It a thin lacing were employedit might be necessary to raise it up against the toothed edge of thelatch so that it would catch upon the teeth in orderthat the tension inthe opposite direction would force the latch downward into lockingposition.

The views of the combined hook and fastening, presented in Figs. 2 to(3, are enlarged to more clearly permit the illustration of the variousparts.

My improved hook and fastening may be employed with any other ordinarylace fastening. Thus, for example, in Fig.1, the lace is shown engagedin eyelets E, and in Fig. 7 the lacing is engaged over ordinary hooks F.From the latter view it will appear more definitely how the hook portionof my deviceresembles that of a customary hook.

What I claim as my invention is A combined lace hook and fasteningconsisting of a base with means for engagement with the shoe or otherarticle, a back having a convex portion A", a top, a depending portionfrom said top parallel with said back, recesses in said back and saiddepending portion, a swinging latch provided with spindles adapted toenter said recesses, and a lip A upon said top bent over the upperportion of the latch to hold the spindles in said recesses substantiallyas described.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of twowitnesses.

- HERBERT J. STEVENS.

Witnesses:

N. S. WRIGHT, O. B. BAENZIGER.

